CONNECT with Sheila Botelho Podcast

The Power of Imperfect Action | Ep 463

• Sheila Botelho

Share episode

Text us! What did you love about this episode?

Access The Episode Webpage here.





Starting anything new, no matter how big or small, can trigger doubt. Even with decades of experience, I’ve felt the tug of fear when stepping into uncharted territory. In this episode, I revisit the foundational lessons in leadership, connection, and resilience that continue to shape the work I do today.


We explore the power of imperfect action as a way to overcome fear, build momentum, and discover untapped potential. I also share how connecting with others—whether through collaboration or mentorship—has opened doors I didn’t even know existed. Growth doesn’t just happen; it’s cultivated through intention, effort, and surrounding yourself with people who expand your perspective.


If you’ve ever felt held back by hesitation or wondered how to align your work with your values, this episode will give you practical tools and encouragement to take that next step. Plus, you’ll learn why self-care and aligned action are at the heart of sustainable growth, both in business and in life.


PS: Thanks so much for listening. I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/connect-with-sheila-botelho/id1527363160 I would really appreciate it. Thanks!



Sheila:

Oh, perfection, you are so enticing. It is so easy to want to wait for everything to be so perfectly lined up before we take that step of action to move things forward. And yet when I look back, I see often my greatest breakthroughs have come through just being curious and getting into motion. And when I do that, the results come. The answers I seek come, the right people show up. Everything works together and sometimes it means changing course, and that's okay. So I'm cheering you on if you're out there taking imperfect action.

Sheila:

Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botelho podcast. I'm an entrepreneur, self-care strategist and creator of the season's self-care app. I'm committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your wellbeing and build your version of a happy, successful life. And on this solo chat, I wanted to go back in time a little bit and share some backstory about how some of the things I do now actually came into being. About how some of the things I do now actually came into being.

Sheila:

If you've been following along for a while, you'll know that many, many years ago 30 to be, in fact my husband and I we weren't even married at the time started with a direct sales business in the wellness space with supplements and helping build a team of people that then would go out and market these supplements to people so we would call this B2C, I guess. So business to consumer, with us being the intermediaries and teaching people about sales, about connection, about all those things. And what a journey it has been, as we have done that, because it has been a wonderful residual income that has happened for many years now. Residual income that has happened for many years now and it has helped to fuel other things that we do in our lives and we have done so many different things. And it's been really interesting because you realize once you do one thing that has never been done by yourself before you start to see new skills kind of rise to the surface inside of yourself and it gives you the confidence to be able to go and try new things Now.

Sheila:

Even so, sometimes there's those experiences where you feel like, oh, my goodness, this new thing, I don't know, it's nerve wracking, how am I going to do this? And sometimes doubt will still come, because that's just part of being human and, as I've mentioned before, any new thing that we go out to do, even if we're just like ideating about it, and then, when it comes time to actually do the thing we can stop ourselves, and that's because our brain is trying to keep us safe. Our brain is so busy keeping us alive. It doesn't want us to be trying all these new scary things, because it doesn't know the difference between actual danger and just something different and something new. It loves boring, right.

Sheila:

And so the key that I have found to be so helpful as I've tried many new things over the years, and thankfully it's been getting easier and easier over time is to have a really good relationship with my brain, with my amygdala, and just let them know hey, you know what. I've got this. We're going to be just fine. We can always go back to the way things always have been, and for some reason, there are sparkles on my screen right now. That's so cool.

Sheila:

I didn't know we could do that, and so the cool thing about this is it allowed me to play and to get curious about those things that I could try and that I could do, and something that has always served me really well is having an openness to opportunities, and, as you can tell by the name of this podcast, I love to connect with people and I love to hear their stories, and I love to make connections of the things that I've experienced with what other people have experienced, because it's an even deeper level of getting to know someone, and then from there, I love to connect people with each other, people of like mind, people with businesses that could collaborate well together, and so this has been something I've done over the years, sometimes for business and sometimes just out of the goodness of my heart, because I really love seeing people win and I love seeing collaborations happen that make sense and that light people up. That truly lights me up. So, over the years, I've had different entrances into businesses, from writing to marketing and promotion, to, obviously, sales, to nutrition, to different product lines, and more recently, in the last decade, that has translated into moving into the blogging and podcasting and online course creation space and coaching space, and it's been really fun to see what has happened there, because these types of skills that I developed years ago come into play time and time again with the things that I do each new business, each new idea that comes about, and so there are three things, though, that typically keep coming up each time, and it's very interesting because you can feel like I've been doing this a while. I should have this down pat Some of the old emotions that maybe used to come up don't come up anymore, but different ones do.

Sheila:

And sometimes it's old emotions that maybe used to come up don't come up anymore, but different ones do. And sometimes it's old emotions that are dressed up in a fancy outfit, trying to trick me that there's something different, but they're actually something that is still at the root of something that maybe had been holding me back in the past, like something that you think you've worked through, but maybe there's still remnants of it there. And what I love about this is it just shows that, no matter what phase of life we are at, there's always room for growth. I really believe when we are growing, we feel fulfillment, we feel that sense of progress. You'll hear many other people talk about this that progress is what gives us this feeling of satisfaction. I mean, think about it Whenever you have started something, no matter how big or small, and you actually come to the end of it, you complete it and you tie it up with a bow and you can just look at it and say, ah, I did that thing, no matter what it is, it feels really, really good.

Sheila:

Conversely, when we have so many ideas in our head that we want to get started on and we never take that step. It's an opposite feeling, in fact. It can feel kind of like something is just like it almost makes you sick to your stomach, in a sense right Like, think about it, that feeling of regret. There's like a bitterness to it. There's a bitterness that comes along with it. I've had conversations recently with people about this, about the pang of regret, and honestly, if you've been living your full life, you must have some regrets at some place. That's just the human quality that we experience when we go through life. We don't do absolutely everything that we set out to do, and then there's some things that we really wished for that now I can look back and say you know, I'm glad that didn't happen. At the time maybe I was unhappy that the thing didn't happen, but looking back, it all worked out.

Sheila:

And so a couple of the things that I was mentioning earlier that have been on repeat in this experience have been things related to taking action. Action is such a beautiful way to cure the fears that come up before us, and I say that because I've experienced it so many times, and yet there are still those things that will come up. For me, I have to remind myself of that. It's not just a natural thing. Yet, after all these years of just thinking about the thing, putting the plan together and doing it, I've had times where I've thought it'd be really neat if my brain actually acted like these AI bots and just says okay, you want to do this? Here are the prompts Do the thing. It doesn't really work that way. There's emotions connected to it, there's feelings, and that's okay, because we want our humanity right. The cool thing is when you recognize it happening so you can actually stop yourself and do something that can help you over that hump. And that is where embodiment comes in. And that is where being able to have practices that you lean on to help you take action in a more aligned way and with more confidence as well.

Sheila:

And one of the key things that has helped me has been my meditation practice paired with being in nature, and when I say meditation, I mean both the kind of meditation where you're actually just really doing a meditation, like guided meditation, and then another one is. I love to meditate and pray because it really allows me to release and to receive, and that is where the confidence comes from, because, in that meditation, what typically will happen is I will see that this is just one more thing that I'm going to put some energy behind and I'm going to get curious about and I'm going to take action on, and then we get to see what the results are after the fact, and we can always change course. I really believe that intention is the key here, though. When you have an intention to do something that is a benefit to others, that is to serve others, that is coming from the good place in your heart. I believe, regardless of the outcome, taking the action on it is super valuable, and so I will leave you with this quote on this particular topic, and that is imperfect. Action fuels progress, and I say imperfect because so often we have these ideas in our mind about what really it needs to look like, and that will stop us when, in fact, our brains cannot fully give us the whole view of everything until we actually start taking the steps of everything, until we actually start taking the steps.

Sheila:

I realized this with some events that I was wanting to put on. I was having conversations with a group of people, and I had an idea in my mind of what we were going to talk about and when it was going to happen and who was going to be involved and all the collaborators, et cetera. And then what ended up happening was, as soon as I had my first conversation, I realized, oh, that timing's not even going to work. And actually, where the location was going to be, you know, it was going to be too difficult to get people into that space, and so I needed to backpedal on my plans, and that's fine, because I was able to completely shift. And then what ended up happening is I decided to do something virtual instead, which reached more people, which was more advantageous for everybody, and the result was that people actually got the transformation in a different way than I expected, but it was actually more powerful.

Sheila:

So we have to be able to, and willing to, take the imperfect action, and so the thing that then comes up for me is this idea of growth and surrounding yourselves with people that have been places that you haven't been. They have done things you've not done. They're experts in an area where maybe you're not an expert. I mean, let's face it, we can't be expert at everything and it really makes it more enjoyable in life to surround yourself with people who have expertise in different areas, because, yes, you learn something, but also you get to see other people shine in their brilliance and you can benefit each other while you do that. That's the power of collaboration, and so what this shows me, too, is your growth reflects your level of excellence. Does this make sense? When you are moving through something, when you have actually taken the next leap in your growth, you start to see a new level of outcome. The results seem to come faster. People seem to need less guidance because everything is there that they need. It feels a little bit more easeful, and that's because you have been cultivating excellence in your life.

Sheila:

You have grown, and the idea of John Maxwell actually talks about this in his book the 21 Laws of Leadership Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I believe it's called. He talks about the law of the lid and how your level of leadership and success are capped at the level of your current skills, and so this invites us into looking at how do we want to grow in our lives, and if we want to grow beyond where we are, we're going to need to get guidance on how to get there, and that's where coaching comes in. That's where group programs come in. That's where mentorship comes in, and myself I have invested over the years in mentorship in groups, in masterminds, in programs, so that I could grow beyond what I knew. Because there's this saying you know what you know, but you don't know what you don't know, and so someone else knows that thing. Get to know that person and get guided by them so that you can then learn the things that you didn't know already. And that is how we grow.

Sheila:

And so if you're wanting to grow and expand in your life, in your business, in your relationships, it's so key to put yourself in front of people who have the type of experience in their life and business that you are desiring, because you will learn things from them. And typically, people who are on a growth trajectory love to share their secrets. They love to actually have conversations with people who are on a growth trajectory love to share their secrets, like they love to actually have conversations with people who are looking to grow and expand. And I myself I love being in spaces like that because it shows me the beauty in humanity during a time and I mean I think there's always been these times where the you know path of least resistance is so enticing, and people want to just stay where they are and not have to try, not have to put themselves out there, and hey, if you're at that place right now, that's okay. We all get to have grace on ourselves in the different parts of our journey. There's just something so special about connecting with people who want to grow and who want to grow not just for their own sake, even though that in and of itself is enough and I love the idea of growing to serve the collective, to reach other people and help them expand and help them feel good in their lives, and so that's what I love about when we can grow and expand. And I look at some of the things that I've been doing recently with clients that I've been working with, and I see that I would not help them get the results that they really wanted had I not made the investments in growing myself. I can only guide someone as far as I can see, and so if I'm really wanting to take people beyond where they are, I need to continually be moving myself in that direction too, like beyond where I am, and I need to be a few steps ahead in some regards so that I can do that, and so I'm really grateful for the investment in time that I've made over the years and for those people who I get to call my mentors because they have poured so much into me.

Sheila:

And the third thing I want to talk about is connection. Is the catalyst for impact? Like truly connection when you are not just on your own, not trying to lone wolf it, when you are with one other person or a group of people who are wanting to reach and expand and do new things, something really magical happens. There's like this powerful energy and more possibility opens up than you could imagine, opens up than you could imagine. And so when you can look with intention towards connecting more with other people, whether it be in your specific field or beyond that, even looking for connections and collaborations outside of what you do, that could really let everyone else rise. That can be really exciting, because you start to get creativity at play here. You get to see different ideas emerge that you otherwise would never see, because you're maybe talking to someone in a completely different field, a completely different part of the world maybe. And that's where even greater success can be unlocked, because you're creating a unique, valuable next step for people or program or offering that again, would not otherwise exist without the connection and collaboration with that other person.

Sheila:

One thing that I'm loving I have a few friends who have well, a number of friends actually who have retail businesses, and what I love seeing is when they are collaborating. They may have completely different businesses, but they're in a similar region and they do have similar type of clientele and they work together and they collaborate. And what's beautiful about that is it's beautiful for the community, but also it allows everybody to rise up a little more in their own success, in their profits, in their reach, and they're building truly with community at heart. So, and of course, when you think about retail, do you just go to one store, like you probably shop, right, if you're sitting on a phone watching this or if you're listening to your headphones to this podcast, you have bought something at some point in your life. Do you just go to one store or do you go to, you know, a handful of stores or maybe more? Imagine if the various stores that you went to had connection. And then, hey, if you shop here, you get a discount on this and oh, did you know this person? They also own this place and they're having this event, and so the people from this organization and this organization are coming together to create something.

Sheila:

I just think that's so cool, and it actually is like it hearkens back to an older time, which is what we grew up with in the beginning of some of our towns, when they were just getting founded these small communities, everybody coming together, and we can have this now also. So I love celebrating that with the various people I know who are doing it. I know some people who were completely in a different space and decided to open up a retail establishment, and they are so loving it. It's so different, but they're having so much fun and it's because they're bringing in that communication and community element together. Like the communication piece gets to be on social media and the connection gets to be online but also in person. So it's really beautiful.

Sheila:

And so these are some of the things that I wanted to reflect on as I thought about my journey in business just how many things have shifted and changed and how, in this beautiful environment that we get to live in, in the online space, so much more becomes possible because you can have different ways. You're working with people Like, for instance, myself. I have one-on-one clients. I have corporate clients, I have my group program clients and then I have, of course, things like this, the podcast, and ways that I connect to promote and to educate and build community with people, and I'm loving it. Of course, I have the app, where I have the programs in there for self-guided stuff.

Sheila:

There's so many ways that we can be growing and expanding our brands and our businesses and we get to do it in a way that feels good, and I'm wondering for yourself how are you feeling about your own growth trajectory? How are you feeling about what you are doing in your day to day? Are you completely happy with it? Are you looking to expand? I just want to encourage you. It is possible to continue doing what you're doing. If you have a business and then branching out into other areas as well, you can do it very methodically. It's something I love to strategize with people on and, of course, I'm doing it all through the lens of self-care, meaning I want you, as the founder of your business, to feel your best and to be so aligned and clear on what your outcome is in your whole life so that you can then build your business plan around that instead of the other way around and leaving yourself last on the list of to-dos.

Sheila:

And so if you are wanting to dive in a little bit deeper to your own next steps for the next five years, 10 years, and you want to get clear on your vision, I invite you to download the Embodied Success Method and Meditation. You'll see it in the show notes and you'll see it anywhere linked wherever you find me on my website, et cetera and it is always a wonderful way for you to be able to tune in, to get quiet and to really know what are your next steps. And then you get to plan backwards to what the first step is based on, looking at your goal and then bringing it back. I'd love to reverse engineer with my clients so fun. So it's a free method of meditation. You can check it out, download it at the link in the show notes and I would love to hear what new thing are you working on right now.

Sheila:

Could it be you? If you listened to my mini-sode on Monday, it was all about the body and all the things we need to be able to feel whole and give ourselves the actual self-care that our bodies are craving and our minds and souls are craving. What's the thing that you're working on. Is it business? Is it personal? I'd love to hear. Thanks for listening. I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day and I'm sending you lots of love. See you on another episode. Big blessings, thank you.